


i can taste you in my rage

by FaileGaidin



Category: Justified
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7259296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaileGaidin/pseuds/FaileGaidin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim gets pushed too far, and once he cracks, everything else follows suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“You seem upset, Tim,” Raylan said, keeping his voice casual as he looked out the passenger side window.

“Don’t you fucking talk to me,” Tim growled.

Twenty-four hours. That was how long Raylan had been trapped in that cave with Boyd Crowder. But it had been three goddamn days that Raylan had been missing. Three days that the office had been running itself ragged, chasing down every lead that might tell them where the marshal had gone. Hope had given way to nagging down after the first day. By the morning of the third, they were bracing themselves for finding a body instead of rescuing a colleague.

Against all odds, though, Raylan was sitting in the truck next to Tim, leaving behind the cave that just as easily could have been his tomb. He was covered in dirt and bruises, with dried blood crusting along a cut across his forehead, but he was alive. He was alive and damn near fucking chipper and Tim wasn’t having any of it.

Three goddamn days.

For his part, Raylan had no idea what was wrong with Tim. Sure, he knew he had probably worried a few people – he imagined that Winona was going to give him an earful the next time that he saw her – but he hadn’t actually done anything wrong this time. A routine witness questioning had ended up with him getting his lights knocked out and his gun taken away. Mostly, the three days – and hadn’t that come as a surprise to find out? – had been spent in the dark with the occasional scrap of food thrown his way. He still wasn’t sure how exactly he’d ended up in the cave, or what the holy hell Boyd Crowder had been doing there with him, but he supposed they’d work on figuring that out later. For now, all he wanted was a hot shower and some quality time with this bed.

Of course, that had all been before he’d climbed into the SUV with a pissed off Tim Gutterson.

“Maybe you’d like to get something off of your chest,” Raylan continued carefully. When the other man made no response, he decided to keep pushing his luck. “You shouldn’t keep these feelings in, Tim. Shit like that’s not healthy. You gotta talk. You gotta share –“

Tim cut the wheel to the right without any warning, pulling the SUV off to the side of the road before throwing it into park. Raylan’s speech cut off at the sudden change, but he didn’t get a chance to continue it. Before he could even open his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, Tim was reaching over and grabbing the front of his shirt. With a surprising amount of strength, he hauled Raylan closer to him and just fucking claimed his mouth.

Raylan only had time to register the pressure against his lips before Tim’s tongue swept into his mouth and all thought ceased. Raylan’s eyes widened at the unexpected move, and then an instinct that he didn’t even know he had took over. His eyes slid shut and one hand came up to wrap around Tim’s wrist. He pressed forward and let his tongue tangle with Tim’s, even as he breathed in deeply through his nose. Tim smelled like dirt and sweat and a hint of cologne, and for some reason that made goosebumps race up both of Raylan’s arms.

It ended just as suddenly as it began; Tim pulled away and released Raylan with a small shove. It was just enough to put some space between them again, and then the other man was turning back to the steering wheel. Without a word, he put the car back into gear and pulled out onto the road to continue their journey back to the office. Raylan continued to stare at him for another few miles, his mind trying to wrap around what had just happened. He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out.

“We ain’t talking about this,” Tim finally said, his voice firm and his eyes locked on the road.

For once, Raylan decided it was best not to push his luck.


	2. Chapter 2

Tapping his pen against the side of his computer, Raylan looked at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. He kept telling himself that if Tim and Rachel weren’t back in the next ten minutes, he was going to go out there and find them, to hell with what Art had said. Except that Art was sitting in his office with the door open, watching Raylan through the window. He knew exactly what his deputy was planning, and every time Raylan decided that he was finally getting up, his boss would be there giving him that look that kept his butt attached to the chair. 

“You do realize that it’s been a week since the cave incident, right?” Raylan called out. “I’m fine. I could’ve gone out there with them.”

“And you realize that Tim and Rachel are all grown up and more than capable of taking care of themselves, right?” Art shot back. “You’re on desk duty for another three days. They’re fine.”

“They were due back an hour ago.”

“Shit happens, Raylan. You know that.”

“My point exactly!”

He knew he was more antsy than usual, but he couldn’t exactly explain that to Art. Because explaining that to Art would probably lead to him bringing up how worried he was about Tim. And that would lead to a certain incident that had happened in a certain SUV that had involved certain mouths. And although Raylan wasn’t freaking out about the fact that he had kissed another guy, he knew that this was not a conversation he ever wanted to have with Art. 

He was also fairly certain that Tim would kill him if he ever told anyone about that night. 

It was at that moment that Tim and Rachel finally came through the doors. Raylan’s eyes went right to Tim, his jaw clenching when he saw the cut under his eye. He looked over at Rachel for an explanation, but she just shrugged. 

“He said I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” Art asked as he stepped out of his office.

Tim just held up a hand and made a beeline for the locker room. As the door closed behind him, Raylan gestured at the spot where the deputy marshall had disappeared. 

“I told you something went wrong!” he hissed.

Art rolled his eyes. “Just go get him cleaned up,” he said. Then he pointed at Rachel. “You, let’s talk.”

Rachel looked vaguely uncomfortable. “Tim said -“

“I don’t give a damn what Tim said. I need an update. Now. And Raylan…” Art looked over at the closed door pointedly. 

He waited until Rachel had disappeared into Art’s office before reaching out to the pull the first aid kit from his bottom drawer. Heaving himself out of his seat, Raylan wasn’t sure if he was hesitant to be alone in a room with Tim, or if he was relieved. 

He thought about knocking on the door, but there was a part of him that suspected Tim would tell him to leave him the hell alone. Not wanting to give him that chance, Raylan just pushed the door open and stepped in. 

Tim stood leaning over one of the sinks, his shoulders slightly slumped. Raylan took the opportunity to let his eyes travel up and down the other man’s body, letting him mind flash back to that day in the SUV. Everything came flooding back, just like it always did when he remembered it, and he let it wash over him. The feel of Tim’s mouth against his own, the heat coming off of him as their lips dragged against one another. Raylan knew that memory was going to stick with him for the rest of his life. 

He hadn’t realized until that very moment that he didn’t want it to be the only memory.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Tim said, cutting into his thoughts. 

Raylan wasn’t sure if he was talking about the kiss or the cut on his face, but he decided to just avoid both topics. Instead, he held up the first aid kit and shook it. 

“I ain’t asking,” he assured him. “Art told me to get in here and clean your ass up. I’m just following orders. So come on,” he tilted his head toward the long metal bench that ran down the center of the room. “Let’s get this over with.”

Tim’s shoulders tightened for just a second and then he was crossing the room, not meeting Raylan’s eyes as he straddled the bench. Raylan mirrored Tim’s position on the bench, sitting close enough that their knees brushed together. He didn’t say anything as he opened the first aid kit and pulled out the antiseptic wipes, but he couldn’t keep the grimace from his face when he got a closer look at Tim’s face. The cut was small, but it was red and angry. In all honesty, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some of the injuries they’d both had in the past, and Raylan knew that the whole thing had probably been a minor incident that Tim would forget sooner rather than later.

It was the worry that had gotten to him. Raylan had never worried about Tim before – at least not outside of a genuine life and death situation – but he had spent a good chunk of the afternoon concerned about his friend. It had set him on edge, and now that he had Tim in front of him, Raylan was stuck with a bunch of energy that he had nowhere to expel.

The only thing he could do was focus all of it on cleaning that one small cut. He let his focus narrow in on it, the rest of the world fading away. He didn’t know what the hell to do with all of the feelings he was having for the man sitting in front of him, but Raylan could make sure that the cut was cleaned and bandaged properly.

Reaching up, he steadied Tm’s chin with one hand and used the other to gently dab at the wound. Tim flinched just a little at the sting, but otherwise he stayed still as Raylan worked.  
Which was why Raylan was surprised when Tim suddenly took a hold of his wrist, stilling his movements.

“I think it’s clean,” Tim said slowly. “You’ve been pokin’ at it for a while now.”

Raylan frowned, eyes zeroing in on the cut. It did indeed look clean, and it even looked like the redness around it had started to fade.

“Oh,” he said quietly. “Sorry.”

Raylan couldn’t remember deciding to move, but the next moment he was leaning in and pressing his lips against Tim’s. The hand he had on Tim’s chin slid up and around his head, fingers burrowing into his hair. Tim froze at the contact and alarm bells went off in the back of Raylan’s head. He suddenly saw himself getting decked by Tim and having to explain all of the commotion to Art and Rachel when they came rushing in. His heart thudded painfully in his chest at the thought, and the fingers he had buried in Tim’s hair twitched with indecision.

But then Tim was sighing and leaning forward. The kiss didn’t have the force and the desperation of the last one, but it was quiet and whole. They moved slowly, testing each other out in a way they hadn’t before. Raylan tugged softly at the other man’s bottom lip and Tim’s mouth fell open. Tilting their heads, the two men let themselves explore, breathing each other in as hands began to move cautiously. One of them let out a quiet sigh and the kiss somehow deepened. Bodies slid along the bench to get even closer and instead of a sigh, one of them let out a hungry moan.

A shrill ringing cut across the room and they both jerked back. Raylan was fairly certain he’d never hated his phone more as he watched Tim push himself up from the bench, eyes wide and one hand wiping at his mouth. He turned around on what seemed to be slightly shaky legs and headed for the door. 

“I take it we still ain’t talkin’ about this?” Raylan asked, his voice sounding strange in his own ears.

Tim gave him a pointed look and walked out.


End file.
